Nightmare
by EscaoingPanda
Summary: First Story! Yay! Anyway, when Josh has a nightmare, who will come to his aid? I have no idea if this needs a T rating, but better safe than sorry. It's really just fluff (how you take that fluff is up to you :) ).


A/N: Quite honestly, this series does NOT get enough credit or attention. So I'm going to write some stories to fill out the archive a bit. I love this series to a point to where it is probably unhealthy (seriously, I might follow a religion of this), so I might as well channel my passion into something useful!

Josh is, like, my favorite character ever. I wish they had gotten into more detail about his relationship with Mars. I mean, they can talk to each other mentally and get into the others' mind. And they're on opposite sides of the battle for a lot of the book! :O I think that would be a really cool relationship to delve into. *Cough*anditsnotlikeimightshipthemalittle*cough*cough* NARG SLASH FANDOMS Y U DO THIS TO ME!

Well,enough of my fangirl rambling.

:D Here we go!

IMPORTANT: This takes place on (an) imaginary day(s) where Nicolas and Company are spending time with an Elder or Immortal of some sort and both sides are kind of in a ceasefire while regrouping and planning. Also, both Josh and Mars may be OOC depending on how you further interpreted their characters.

No. 1 Nightmare

Josh was tired. He had just finished practicing his fire magic with Prometheus. The man was like a slave driver! Josh had lost track of how many times Prometheus had made him create orbs of fire in his palms. Echoes of "Come on, is that all you can do?" and "Make it bigger!" still rang in his ears.

Thankfully the door to his room was in sight. As soon as he got in, he collasped on the bed. He shook his shoes off his feet then yanked his socks off. He didn't bother with the rest of his clothes. Soon, he was snuggled under the sheets of his bed. He sighed, finally relaxed. Even though sleep called to him, he fought to stay awake a little longer. Because of this mess they were in with the Elders and the Codex and all of that, the time to relax might not come again for a long time. He wanted to savor the moment while it lasted. But soon, he could ignore his exhaustion no longer, and drifted off to sleep.

…

_He was running._

_Faster and faster, away from an enemy he couldn't see. Further, further he pushed himself. But his pursuer did not let up. _

_It was dark, all around him. All that he could see was the forest floor for a few feet ahead of him, and the black silhouettes of trees as he raced by. But while he could not see much, he could hear. He heard the pounding of his own feet on the ground, the harsh wheezing of his breath, the air whooshing as he ran. Loudest of all he heard his pursuer. It slid across the ground, never resting and never tiring. As he ran, he heard a new noise from behind him. 'Hiiiissssssss' At that, he ran even faster than before. _

_However it seemed that fate was not on his side. For after a few more steps, the worst thing that could have occurred happened. He tripped. _

_Josh fell hard down to his knees. For a second, he was stunned, before he scrambled to get up. He tried again and again. But he could not get up. _

_The noises behind him got louder and louder, until he sensed more than heard the creature stop a short distance away from him. It seemed to be waiting for him to look at it. Josh clenched his eyes shut and took in deep breathes. A tear trickled down his face out of pure fear. Finally, he spun around on the grass and opened his eyes. What he saw was terrifying. _

_It was Sophie. But not like she really was. This Sophie was a monster. Her upper body was pale and dirty. Her hair was a tangle of filth and she had a wild, hungry gleam in her eyes. Blood was splattered around her mouth. Somehow Josh knew that that wasn't her own blood. But that wasn't the part he feared the most. It was hear lower body. It was that of a snake. Black and silver scales reflected an unknown light source. A thick tail was wrapped in coils on the ground. And when she then smiled at Josh, her mouth was full of thick, snap fangs that oozed venom. _

'_Jossssssshhh' , she hissed, 'Jossssssshhh, come to me'. _

_Josh wouldn't move. He was terrified. He brought his knees closer to his chest and held out one arm in a weak attempt at a defensive position. 'N-no' he responded. The monster gave a low hiss, and suddenly, Josh heard a noise from behind him. He spun around and watched in horror as from the trees came another monster, this one bearing the semblance of Nicholas. _

_'Josssssshhhh', it hissed. Then, a noise came from his right. It was yet another monster, this one resembling Perenelle. One by one, more of them came from the trees. Saint Germain, Scatty, Machiavelli, Joan, Palamedes, Prometheus, all of them were monsters. _

_'Jossssssshhh' they all hissed together. They slowly advanced upon him. 'JOSSSSSSSSHHH' they chorused once more. _

_Josh was practically paralyzed with fear. All he could do was bring his knees to his chest and bury his head in them. He listened in horror as the monsters drew closer. _

...

Mars knew something was wrong. He didn't know how he knew, something just told him. It was a nagging feeling in the back of his head that only grew stronger and stronger. After being set free from the Catacombs, he had gone to the home of the Elder Danu. She was an ancient, kind, and wise being, and took Mars in with open arms. When Mars questioned her warm welcome, she simply smiled at him and said, "I think you deserve some rest". She was a healer and had healed him of all ailments the Witch's curse had given him. So skillful was she that she had returned him to his former youthful*, handsome and strong build.

The Witch. Mars sighed just thinking about her. Once he had been freed from his prison by her, they had had a little talk. A talk that happened to concern their marriage. Or, former marriage. They had both decided it was best to move on. Their goals and morals were too different, and the passion that was once between them was a thing of a long ago past. He had seen this coming, really. Even before he became a Warlock, he and the Witch had had a rift between them for while. Said rift was not helped when their eldest son died and their youngest was exiled for killing him. So really, this was no huge surprise.

Suddenly, Mars felt a flash of fear bolt through him. His hand immediately went to his sword and he jumped from his chair. He surveyed the area, but all was calm. There was no reason for him to be scared, so why was he…

Images flashed in Mars' mind. A dark forest. A horde of snake monsters – Nagas by the look of them. And a small boy crying in the center of them, obviously terrified. Mars focused more on the boy, and realized that he recognized the slim figure and mess of long blond hair. It was Josh, the boy had had Awoken not three days ago. But what was he doing in a group of Nagas? And why was he so frightened? Mars had seen the boy defend himself before, and it was a sight to behold. Then, he saw it. The Nagas weren't just Nagas – they were people Josh knew. The Flamels, The Firelord, The Shadow, Mars even recognized the boy's twin sister. And then he remembered something else. The boy was deathly afraid of snakes.

Falling back into the chair, Mars pondered what to do. He was fond of the boy. Josh was spirited, brave, smart, and surprisingly kind and pure-hearted when push came to shove. But how would he help the boy? He was thousands of miles away, and had couldn't contact him.

It then hit Mars. The images he saw were through the boy's mind. That meant the boy had to be either thinking up the scenario or experiencing it, and Mars doubted everyone around him suddenly became Nagas. It certainly wasn't a pleasant scenario, so the boy was most likely not consciously creating it. This meant it was most likely a dream. Josh was having a nightmare.

Mars now knew what he needed to do. He reclined back into his chair and blocked out all distractions. He focused on the link he and Josh had. Into the link, he began to mentally call out '_Josh'. 'Josh'. _

…

_The monsters were getting closer. Josh could hear them. Their chanting just got louder and louder. 'JOSSSSSSSHHH' they hissed out again. Josh curled up even tighter. 'Someone, please help!' he cried out desperately…_

_Then, a new voice began to ring out. _

_'Josh. Josh' It said. This voice didn't hiss. It was strong and comforting. Josh focused on this voice. 'Josh. It's alright. You're safe'. Josh hesitantly lifted his head from his knees and looked around him. The monsters were still there, but someone else was to. A man, only looking to be in his early thirties at the most, was walking towards him. Josh suddenly recognized the large muscles, tan skin, and 8 ft height of Mars. _

_'M-mars?' he called out softly. Mars smiled softly in return. _

_'Yes, Josh. It's okay. You're safe now'. The closer Mars came to him, the more he was defined, and the fuzzier the Nagas became. They then faded away into nothing. Josh was left with the Elder. _

_'Thank you', Josh said, relieved that the snake monsters were gone. Then his cheeks flushed a dark red. He couldn't believe that he let Mars see him so… weak._

_ As if reading his mind, Mars smiled, knelt down in front of Josh, and said, 'It was nothing. It's alright to be scared, especially of such loathsome things as snakes. I won't think any less of you for it – bravery is not being fearless, but continuing despite fear'. Josh stared at the Elder for a moment before smiling and, much to Mars' surprise, flinging his arms around Mars' neck. _

'_Thank you…again. I'll remember that', Josh said. _

_Mars chuckled. 'Yes, but now it's time for me to wake up. Day is almost upon me where I am'. _

_Josh leaned back, looking sad. 'I guess that means more fighting soon... Mars?' 'Hmm?' Mars hummed. 'Do you think that… there's any way you could join our side?' _

_Mars looked at the boy in surprise. 'Why would you want that? Your friends and sister are not all too fond of me'. _

_'But you'd really help! Besides, I'm kind of lonely over here… Soph and I have been drifting apart, and I don't really trust Perenelle or Nick. The Elders here like Sophie more, too'. _

_Mars smiled at the last part. 'Probably because your sister can keep her mouth shut'. _

_'Hey!' was the response. _

_Mars laughed, then became serious once more. 'Do you really want me here?' Josh nodded, and Mars sighed. 'We shall see what happens, then'. Josh was a bit disappointed at the ambiguous answer, but nodded all the same. _

_'Well, goodbye', he said. Mars gave one last smile, before breaking fading away. Josh lay down there, simply resting for a while, but then found the whole world around him getting brighter and brighter…_

…

"Josh! Josh, get up!"

Josh jerked awake to his twin's voice, still tangled in his sheets. "I'm up! I'm up! What's the big deal!"

"It's Mars, the Elder! He just came here through a leygate with another female Elder, and he's asked to join our cause", Sophie responded. Josh was utterly shocked for a moment. _Does that mean he really… _Josh sprang up from the bed and took off through the house, ignoring Sophie's yells behind him. He bounded down the stairs and skidded into the living room. Sure enough there was Mars talking (AN: more like yelling) with Nicolas and Perenelle, and next to him was a petite, young and powerful-feeling female, just as Sophie said.

A smile broke across Josh's face. "Mars! You came!" he yelped out.

Mars turned to look at where Josh was, and before he knew it he had an armful of teenage legend. "You came! Thank you!" Josh said (again). Mars smiled and said, "Danu was meaning to help the humani, so I simply joined her on her way here. She is a Great Elder, and has power over some leygates, so she took us both here upon my request".

As Josh and Mars continued to talk, the rest of the group looked on shocked. Well, everyone except Danu. She was just smiling and cooing at the displays of affection**. Soon, Mars and Josh migrated to the kitchen, were a long explanation was in order.

The End.

Wow, that was long. For me, at least. Anyway, isn't Josh just adorkable! And I tried to leave stuff pretty open, so you can take the stuff that happens any way you want.

*When I say youthful, I mean like late twenties early thirties.

** Yes, Danu may or may not be something of a self insert, ok?! I do what I want!

BYE, and thank you for reading! :D

Edit: I took the advice of another great author and made new paragraphs for speaking. Grammar is not my strong suit, so I hope everything is okay. :)


End file.
